Parcel bomb sent to Italian newspaper office

10 april 2013, 10:47

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A parcel bomb was sent to the offices of Italian newspaper La Stampa on Tuesday but failed to detonate when opened, prompting an evacuation of the building as bomb disposal teams were deployed, AFP reports citing the police and the daily.

"Inside there was a mechanical system, which did not function, but was capable of detonating a device," La Stampa said on its website, which showed a photograph of the bomb in a type of hard case usually used for carrying CDs.

The package was delivered to the newspaper's headquarters in Turin in northern Italy and was opened by an employee of its publishing arm.

The package had passed a metal detector without setting off alarms.

Auto giant Fiat, Italy's biggest private sector employer, is holding its annual general meeting of shareholders also in Turin on Tuesday.

The newspaper quoted police saying that the FAI anarchist group, which has claimed a series of small bomb attacks in recent years and is allied with Greek anarchists, was most likely responsible.

The FAI has claimed a series of parcel bomb attacks on foreign embassies in Rome and EU leaders in recent years, as well as bombs sent to tax offices and police stations in Italy.